TUC: From the General Strike to New Unionism, The

Capital & Class, Autumn 2001 by Simms, Melanie

Robert Taylor The TUC: From the General Strike to New Unionism Palgrave, Basingstoke, 2000. pp. 312 ISBN 0-333-93066-5 (paper) L5.99

Reviewed by Melanie Simms

Given the traditional focus of British industrial relations on the institutions of employment relations, there has been surprisingly little attention given in the literature to the role of the Trades Union Congress (Tuc) and, in this regard, Taylor's contribution is a relevant and overdue addition to existing literature. The author sets out to write a history of the Tuc from 1926 to the present day, as seen from the perspective of the General Secretaries and central figures such as leaders of the large general unions. In many senses, he achieves this objective and the result is an informative and useful study. Furthermore, it will undoubtedly prove to be valuable as a starting point for future analyses of the work and influence of the TUC.

The narrative begins in the immediate aftermath of the General Strike in 1926 with Walter Citrine taking the helm of the TUC, and works steadily towards the current Monks' era with each chapter considering a crucial period of the institution's history. Focusing on the roles of key actors in the development of the TUC and using extensive quotations from their collected diaries, speeches and papers,Taylor gives the reader a strong sense of the character of these men (and they are, with the notable exceptions of Barbara Castle and Margaret Thatcher, all men).

The strength of this approach to historical narrative is that the reader is left with a vivid impression of the people involved in shaping the institution and its policies-an institution that has influenced the policies of some governments at crucial political and economic moments. The weakness, however, is that dissenting views are rarely considered and the policies pursued by the Tuc have a tendency to be presented throughout this book as historically inevitable. There are a number of exceptions to this. The presentation of some of the conflicting views during Jack Jones' era of the Social Contract is well developed and the roles of the Communist Party and the TGwu are discussed at some length. But overall, many of the contributions made to the TUC by groups which were not in positions of leadership-such as women, black workers and those from non-Labour Party political perspectives-are paid too little attention in this history.

Furthermore, the book is very dependent on previous biographies of TUC leaders. Papers, diaries and speeches supplement this existing material. The way in which the author presents this (undoubtedly thorough) research will leave a number of readers with some practical problems. Firstly, it is a very dense read and it assumes a high level of knowledge about the political background at certain periods of history. This is particularly true when the author is discussing the TUc's influence on various governments. Knowledge about the relationships between government ministers and union leaders is assumed. The book would therefore have significantly benefited from a list of the people who are discussed and a summary of their roles at appropriate periods. It is not unreasonable to suggest that, as a result of this assumed level of knowledge, many students may well struggle to use the book as anything other than a supplementary text.

Secondly, the book's linear narrative structure means that the parallels and contrasts between certain eras are not explored. This is perhaps a harsh criticism given that the explicit objective of the author is to present a chronological development of the organisation but, for example, Citrine's early helmsmanship continues to echo down the decades and it would have been particularly interesting to develop this analysis.

A final observation that emerges from the way the book is structured is that in ending it with a contemporary chapter in what is essentially a historical analysis, rather than ending with an analytical conclusion, produces more questions than answers. The chapter on John Monks is disappointingly short and lacks any clear analysis of contemporary developments such as the Organising Academy, the Partnership Institute and the initiatives on life-long learning. These developments fit within a long history of policy development within the TUC and there may well be lessons to be learnt from this history, but the author makes little attempt to draw out these links.

With these criticisms in mind, the book is undoubtedly a mine of previously unpublished information about the various leaders of the TUC over the past 75 years. A reader with a strong labour history background will be able to find much in it that is of interest, particularly in the detailed descriptions of speeches, writings and the processes by which TUC policies are made. Some readers may find the book's limited focus frustrating, but it largely achieves its objectives and is a useful addition to existing literature.